Hackaball

Hackaball is an educational toy designed to teach school children computer programming through active play. It works by linking motion inputs from a gyroscope with various outputs to create games, aided by a companion app. Hackaball began as a project assigned to two interns at Made by Many in 2013, coinciding with the introduction of computing science to the National Curriculum for England. After identifying a perceived gap in beginner programming tools, they came up with six possible designs to investigate. Out of these, "Rule Ball" (later Hackaball) was chosen to be developed further. After three years of development, Hackaball's production was funded through a month-long Kickstarter campaign that raised over $240,000.^[1][2]

Critical reception to Hackaball was generally positive: critics praised the attention to detail in Hackaball's design and its interactive nature. For their work on Hackaball, Made by Many was a finalist or shortlisted in several design awards, like Fast Company's Innovation by Design awards.^[3] Hackaball was named one of Time magazine's best inventions of 2015^[4] and won a bronze and silver award in the 2015 Lovie Awards.^[5]